Letter: Tax hike hard for those on fixed incomes

As a resident of Leavenworth, I would like to respond to the recent action of the Board of Education decision to raise the mill levy and once again raise my taxes.

Comment

By John GriswoldLeavenworth

The Leavenworth Times - Leavenworth, KS

By John GriswoldLeavenworth

Posted Sep. 5, 2013 at 3:49 PM

By John GriswoldLeavenworth
Posted Sep. 5, 2013 at 3:49 PM

To the editor:

As a resident of Leavenworth, I would like to respond to the recent action of the Board of Education decision to raise the mill levy and once again raise my taxes.

Congratulations on another dumb decision.

You have once again raised my taxes at least $100 a year.

Now that doesn't seem very much stretched out over 12 months, but now I have to give something else up to budget for this stupid move.

The commissioners of Leavenworth held the line on the mill levy as did the County.

But your board, not all of you, but enough to pass the budget, voted to increase our taxes.

I congratulate those who voted against the move, but it should have been a foregone conclusion at the very beginning that the Board would vote to increase the mill levy.

Please tell me what technological access is necessary to improve the standard of education in Leavenworth?

If you continue to build new schools and the level of education standards remain low, it's not the facility but perhaps the level of teaching that should be addressed.

For those of us who are on a fixed income, and no children in any of the Leavenworth schools, how am I and many others like me supposed to keep up with increased taxes?

Perhaps we need to replace the School Board of Education with people who will consider the residents of Leavenworth, as did the City Commission and Count Commission, and "tighten the belt" as they say and give the residents a little room to breathe.

As Mr. Dempsey pointed out in his presentation to the Board, "Do I stay or do I leave."